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I have installed LABVIEW 2019, and I followed the procedures to make sure VIPM can communicate with VIPM 2018.0.0f2:
https://support.jki.net/hc/en-us/articles/214135683-Resolving-issues-with-VIPM-connecting-to-LabVIEW
But, still I do not see LABVIEW 2019 listed within the VIPM window:
Any clue on how o solve this?
Thanks

In version 1.0.3 we've added System Arrays to the "System" theme of the JKI Design Palette.
There are two different System Arrays arrays.
1) There's one with a "System Spin Control" for the Index Display (with increment and decrement buttons), which is nice because it's similar to the other array controls (Classic, etc.)
2) There's another one with a "System Numeric" for the Index Display (without increment and decrement buttons), which is nice because sometimes you don't want/need the increment and decrement buttons.
These are really useful for creating nice System themed UIs with controls like the ones shown below.
Have fun!

Nice. The empty clusters and arrays now work without issues!
Here is a suggestion for the existing clusters/arrays that contain a delete me button (in case you need to keep it after the latest upgrade): why not make the text hidden and the color transparent so it won't even appear (since it is going to be deleted anyway)
And for the decorations, I suggest that you put the decoration on top of an transparent empty cluster that will get deleted after being placed on the FP (in a similar approach to the above).

Yeah I was able to replicate the issues that you described. Creating and empty array/cluster caused all the controls to disappear on the palette. That is why the existing clusters in the palette contains a dummy "Delete Me" control :).
You can do the same with a decoration to add it to the palette:
AA

Show Labels of All Controls in the JKI SDP (Ctrl+L)
You can show or hide the labels of all the controls in the JKI SDP by pressing Ctrl+L.
Press Ctrl+L to show labels on all the controls:
Press Ctrl+L again to hide the labels

Hello Jim,
It used to be that older versions of VIPM could connect to the newest versions of LABVIEW.
Is there any particular reason why this changed? This issue seems to have happened from the VIPM 2018 Version because it was a major update. Is this going to happen for all versions of VIPMs in the future?
The problem is that I have a licence for VIPM 2018, and now I can't use VIPM 2018 with LABVIEW 2019 (I won't be able to generate VIPC files without the licence).
thanks
Helcio

JKI Flat UI Controls 2.0.1 is now available with New Controls and Various Improvements (functional, cosmetic, and search)...
This builds on the 2.0 release and all users are encouraged to upgrade.
Release Notes
New Controls
- Text Only Button (“Blank” Button with no Icon -- just text)
- File Open Button (120x40 button with File Icon and "Open" text)
- File Path Control with folder icon for browse button (in addition to one with a plus “+” icon)
- Borderless Cluster (with very small border/edge, which is nice for making arrays of items where extra visual space between elements is not desired)
- System Cluster (uses a system recessed frame as cluster border)
- System Array (uses a system recessed frame as the array border and a system numeric as the index display)
- VISA Resource (looks similar to the existing Flat UI Controls 2.0 Combo Box)
Functional Improvements
- Mechanical actions of all buttons set to “Latch When Released” (since it tends to be the most commonly used)
- String control is now resizable (Removed extra string controls)
- Numeric control is now resizable (removed extra string controls)
Cosmetic Improvements
- Fixed text size and font of combo box control’s display and drop-down list
- Improved drop shadows of buttons (it’s a little sharper looking now)
- Set all label colors to be consistent across the theme (122,122,127)
- Fixed inconsistencies in font size in various controls
Search Improvements
- Added some some tags to controls for improved search-ability
- Added “Flat” tag to all Flat UI Controls
- Added “button” tag to all buttons
- Fixed typo on “Transparent Boolean” control
Download and Installation:
Option A - Download and install with VIPM
Option B - Run the JKI Design Palette (Tools >> JKI Design Palette) and click the Updates button on the navbar.

Hi
Thanks for creating Flat UI!
My customer requested me to change the blue color of the combo box.
They want it to be green instead so that it matches the rest of the UI.
I have not been able to figure out how to do that.
Is it possible?
Thanks
/Sebastian Bengtsson

I am having similar issue. I cannot activate design palette offline. I used both my gmail and hotmail, but I received nothing for days. Checked all the mail folders in both mail addresses, but nothing happens. I receive JKI update mails by the way.

I hope for you that others which bought VIPM in 2018 see it the same like you. I bet they don't!!!! 🤣😆
I bet NI is also not amused, if people stay with LV2018 for ever.
But hey! I don't care anymore, i found a work around.

Hello,
I have a pro license for VIPM 2018 and LabVIEW 2019 installed a newer version by accident.
Can someone help me out and send me a VIPM 2018f2 release as a .zip file?
Why isn't there a possibility to download older releases on the JKI website?
I wrote to the JKI request 3 times and I have the feeling they don't want to help me.
Cheers Gregor

Use case :
When working / debugging on a PreBuild or PostBuild action VI, I sometime keep the Pre/Post Build VI' FP & BD open for debugging in the context in which it was opened by LabVIEW when the build was started (NI.LV.MxLvProvider context instead of the usual main application context that you can see at the bottom left corner of the VI windows).
When I am in this context, if I open the JDP, try to drag a control onto the front panel of the VI that is in the NI.LV.MxLvProvider context it doesn't work
The work-around is to drag the control into another VI in the main app context, cut it and past it on the VI in the other context
Not a big problem because I rarely do UI in that context but thought I'd mention it anyway.
See video :
feedback JDP.mp4

Hi Antoine. Thanks for reporting this. Yes, the Design Palette intentionally ignores VIs running in any NI.* context because these are typically VIs running as UIs for developer/IDE tools. I'm glad you have a work-around for this use case, since I'm not sure if we want to change this behavior, since it could have lots of negative side effects, yet we'll certainly keep this custom build actions use case in mind for the future.

Question: Many users have asked how they can install Flat UI Controls 2.0 on a computer which has no network access.
Solution: The attached VI Package Configuration (VIPC) file contains everything you need to install the Flat UI Controls. Download it and then double-click ("Apply") it to install both the JKI Flat UI Controls 2.0 and JKI Design Palette.
Download: JKI Flat UI Controls 2.0.1.28.vipc
Note: There may be a newer version of either the JKI Flat UI Controls 2.0 and/or JKI Design Palette available (you can check for pinned posts in those forums for announcements). If you want a newer version than what's available, here, please post a reply to this topic to let us know you'd like a newer version.

Hi guys,
@Christoph, you can press Ctrl+R to re-initialize the Palette. That will exit the interactive and color modes.
I just noticed another bug using these easter eggs (see video attached).
Here is what I did: I first changed the colors of the controls (works well, very cool feature 😊) and then I "allowed interaction" to have a better idea of how these controls would behave on the front panel. After doing that, I selected the JKI Flat UI 2.0 theme inside the Palette and noticed the controls did change color, but I couldn't click on them. I then tried the same thing with my own controls (that I previously added to the Palette) and same problem, I couldn't click on them. In this case, they also wouldn't change color when I moved my mouse pointer over them.
Best,
Benoit
JKI Design Palette.mp4

Hi all,
First, thank you JKI for your great tool that makes the design of my UIs so much easier! I successfully added my own themes and controls to the JKI Design Palette but I noticed some controls are not supported.
Arrays and clusters with no elements: data structures like arrays and clusters require to have elements to be added to the Palette. Adding arrays or clusters that don't have elements make all the controls in the JKI Design Palette disappear as shown below. In the future, I think it would be great to be able to add our own arrays and clusters that don't have a type to the Palette.
Decorations: decorations can't be added to the Palette. I tried to add my own decorations to the Palette and it looks like they are not supported. It didn't make the other controls disappear like above but I think it would be a great improvement to have access to decorations (classic or our own) via the JKI Design Palette.
Best,
Benoit

Thanks for testing and letting us know. Yes, we now officially support "empty" clusters and arrays -- previously, these were throwing errors when we tried to load them, but we fixed it so that they are handled better and officially supported. Have fun.

Hi Jim,
I just checked and it works great! Good idea to automatically delete the "Delete Me" element once the control is placed on the Front Panel.
It also looks like the issue with the controls disappearing doesn't exist anymore. Thanks

In any validation setting, the tolerances around measured and reported values is critical, and so is tracking the tolerances for any given parameter being measured, with any measurement device or sensor. To automate the calculation of these ranges and limits within our overall application, we must track the specifications of any of these parameters. This used to be done using a peer reviewed excel table, and was loaded into LabVIEW using the Report Generation Toolkit. This had several drawbacks, but that's not the point of this post. The point is that using Excel means that any text becomes free text and if data isn't entered correctly then it can cause issues with parsing. So I created something I call the Specification Manager. It's a small utility that is intended to only be used by validation test case developers to add new specifications to the database of available specifications that can be tested, or to add new hardware for use in the validation tool. I built this tool in about 2-3 days as a way of trying out the JKI Flat UI 2.0 and the Design Palette.
Here's the home screen of the tool:
Some things that I think make this a nice UI:
Dark background (76, 76, 76) and a nice pop of vibrant color, the icon for the tool uses the same two colors to provide consistency
All native windows elements are hidden as this tool is very small and simple, there's no need for a toolbar, etc.
Our company uses Century Gothic as a common font in many places, so I used that for some of my UI elements (title bar, specifically)
System Chiselled Line separating workflow components of the tool. That horizontal line doesn't look like much, but it's a visual separation of the two things you're supposed to do with this tool. 1) select a file path, 2) manipulate the individual .spec files
Listbox to store data - I hate working with listboxes, but I think they are the best UI element for storing continuous data. They look way better than any array I've seen when the data is simple.
To add a new specification to the library, you press 'add' and get a dialog window that's a sort of wizard:
I used the JKI built-in buttons here to give some sort of icon to the various specifications that can be created. I also changed the color scheme of this wizard to 'light' to signal to the user that this is a dialog/configuration type window and not really part of the core functionality of the utility. If this were a project for a wider audience, I would have customized them a bit more, but as-is, I think it's okay. The symbols are kind of meaningless as the library isn't as vast as I'd like it to be. After selecting the type of specification, you enter the name of it:
This screen continues to use consistent fonts, and buttons from the previous screen. Pressing 'Continue' gets you to the heart of what this application is intended to do, modify specifications.
(*I typed in random data, please don't double check these against the actual specifications of the 6218 - I will not be using this data in production) I used an array of customized clusters containing the JKI Flat UI 2.0 numerics and enums, then used some more of their pre-built buttons at the bottom for continued navigation. I used the same pop of color on the cancel button, mostly for fun, but also as a way of drawing immediate contrast between the other two operations that the buttons provide.
That's about it!
This is an internal-only tool, but I think that editing specifications using this small purpose-built utility will be easier than us using Excel to do the same thing.
Overall impressions of the Flat UI 2.0 library:
Pros:
good selection of commonly used buttons and controls, consistent theme across numerics, strings, enums, file paths, and buttons - makes a consistent UI easy to build
Color customization of buttons is easy, including customization of the hover-state (which I did to the 'X' button on the home screen of the utility)
Wishlist:
As with any library of icons and UI elements - a wider selection. I had a hard time finding icons for my 'Add Specification' wizard screen and had to reach pretty far
Design palette only launches when using the left ctrl+shift buttons, it'd be nice for it to work with either left or right
Cons:
Working with the String controls and indicators was a little strange. There are actually two resizable elements in a single control, one for the frame/background and one for the actual text field. I had to be careful when resizing the control to make sure that both fields were resized correctly. Also the front panel snapping meant that the border around the text area was easy to lose if the text field itself was resized incorrectly.
I will probably continue to use the UI library for the internal only developer tools, but for the main applications that I'm working on there is still heavy customization specific to my company that I will continue to have to do.
Thanks for reading - feel free to ask any questions about the design choices or other elements of the UI for this tool.

I think I might be able to share this specific utility I'm working on. It's a very small piece in the big picture of what I'm working on, and I use little utilities like this to try out new toolkits, modules, or LabVIEW components to see what might be worth bringing into our more mainstream code.
In this case, the utility I'm working on is an accuracy specification management tool. I can probably post a few screenshots and thoughts on the UI development once I finish it up.

Ah - yep, that worked!
I usually try and keep my styles separate from the data types, rather than have my type defs styled a certain way, too. But I think for the convenience of not having to recreate my enum and still have it linked to the typedef then this is worth it.
Thanks again Jim
Edit:
I opened my classic enum typdef, replaced it with the jki one, then to avoid replacing all instances of the type def with the JKI one, I went back to my front panel that I wanted to change, used the quick drop shortcut ctrl + p and selected my typedef. That replaced just the instances with the JKI enum, then I went back to my typedef and reverted it to the boring classic style.

Ah, I got it...
See if this works -- I just tried it on my computer and I think it does...
1) Open your type definition in the control editor (right click on it and choose Open Type Def.)
2) In the control editor, select the enum...
3) Follow steps #1-4 in my previous post.
4) Save+close the type definition
Does that do it?

Another minor thing, the button behaves differently from the buttons in the built in path controls. Clicking the button will always trigger the file dialog prompt, versus the other buttons which won't open the dialog if the Mouse Up doesn't happen on the button.
Update: Fixed file posted below:

Story of my life when dealing with LabVIEW UI elements...
Thanks for the explanation - I'll keep that in mind when placing buttons on my UI. I tend to put icon-only buttons in the horizontal mode for space saving, or I'll put the text underneath an icon similar to the ribbon in Microsoft Applications, or the left-bar in their newer applications (Teams).
Combination of icon and text center aligned in a Laid Out Horizontally layout, and stacked vertically in the same space:
Icons and Text all center aligned:
Of course, this all heavily depends on how the user plans on interacting with the UI. In my case, the applications I'm working on a very document centric and have lots of configurations and menus, similar to Office applications. To keep the layout familiar to the user, I mimicked the Ribbon and File Menu ideas.
Thanks for being so receptive to the feedback. I can tell just how much painstaking pixel pushing work went into these UI elements and am really loving the look and feel (and built-in color customization!) of the new controls.

To pair with the 'Save' and 'Save As' buttons, it'd be nice to have built-in buttons for other common file operations. Take the File menu from Windows 10 Wordpad as an example. The ones missing from this would be 'New', 'Load', 'Email', and 'Exit'.

An easy way to do a super simple resizeable UI, I think, is to use splitter bars and then choose one pane that has some kind of big UI element that is easy to resize like a graph that you can just set as "size to pane". Then set the sticking of the splitter bars so that one pane is the only one that changes size on panel resize events and all others stay the same. Then you don't have to worry about scaling all the little buttons and dealing with decorations getting pixelated.
But for a tab control, yeah there is no easy way sadly (at least that I know of). For this, I usually just use radio buttons as the tabs and then a subpanel and switch out which VI is displayed in the subpanel based on the radio buttons.

I am having difficulty creating a UI that scales well for monitors of different resolutions. For programs that have numerous indicators and controls the scaling issue can be especially challenging. The solution provided by NI to this issues as I have read it is to use splitter bars https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Different-Screen-Resolutions-What-is-the-best-method/td-p/1749514
By using splitter bars you can get front panel objects to 'scale' within their pane by first grouping the controls/indicators and then right clicking the group and selecting 'scale object with pane' (although the controls often look distorted when scaling). However, this solution is only viable if you have a limited number of front panel items. When I have too many objects to be displayed on a single window I use tab controls to organize my front panel items. However, you can not use splitter bars within a tab control to so the objects placed on the tab control pages won't scale.
https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Tab-Controls-with-Splitter-Bars/idi-p/990693
Are there any other viable solutions that people are using to solve this issue? Does it require sub panels? Are there any best practices?

Yes, were in the process of making some design decisions -- I'm also in Roma for the CLA Summit and am presenting tomorrow...
One thing that we're evaluating is the impact of changing the process VI to be Dynamic Dispatch (with the ability to call or override the parent). This changes slightly the mechanics of process registration and synchronization.
Additionally, we're working on a full scripting API to allow programmatic creating, editing, and inspection of JKI SMO classes. This aims to enable creating user interface tools that simplify development.
We've been doing this experimental development outside of GitHub to avoid a lot of noise. I'd be happy to loop you into what we're working toward and some of the open design questions.